There is keen demand for new cancer therapy for the treatment of cancer, which is now the leading cause of death. Currently, cancer therapies such as surgical therapy, radiotherapy, and chemotherapy (by use of an anti-cancer agent) are employed. Even after surgery, an anti-cancer agent is employed in postoperative therapy.
Currently employed anti-cancer agents include an alkylating agent, an antimetabolite, an alkaloide anti-cancer agent, an antibiotic anti-cancer agent, and a platinum agent. The treatment effects of these agents are not completely satisfactory. Some agents are not cancer cell-specific and frequently cause adverse side effects, which is problematic. Under such circumstances, there is demand for development of more effective anti-cancer agents.
Meanwhile, cadherin is a Ca2+-dependent adhesion molecule which is expressed on the cell surface. Examples of known cadherin species include classic cadherins such as E cadherin, N cadherin, and P cadherin (CDH3); as well as protocadherin, and desmosomal cadherin. These cadherins are known to bind homophylicly, to form an adherence junction, and to link to the cytoskeletal system (actin filaments) via intracellular catenin and are considered to control cell adhesion by such a mechanism.
In addition to cell adhesion, cadherin is thought to relate to embryogenesis, morphogenesis, synaptogenesis, synaptic plasticity, and infiltration and metastasis of cancer. Thus, an anti-cadherin antibody is reported to be useful for cancer therapy (Patent Documents 1 to 3).